


Sometimes

by Sparky_Time



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Robin (Comics)
Genre: Bruce is trying, Damian loves all his pets dearly, Death of a pet, Dick writes a letter, No proofreading we die like mne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 10:15:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19788802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparky_Time/pseuds/Sparky_Time
Summary: Damian asks Dick a simple question."How do I cope?"Dick writes him a letter.





	Sometimes

_ Sometimes… _

Dick stares at the paper. His handwriting isn’t awful, per se, but it’s far from neat. The question Damian had asked swirls in his mind. ‘How do I cope?’

_ Sometimes when… _

Dick bit his lip. Damian was fourteen now, but Dick remembered when the boy had been ten. Ah, the good old days. Back when Damian was threatening to murder everyone with spoons or swords. (Yeah… Dick didn’t miss that particular aspect of young Damian.)

_ Sometimes when someone… _

Dick hadn’t thought it would be this hard. He really hadn’t. The pencil seemed to be dragging along as he thought about what to write next. 

_ Sometimes when someone you… _

Dick  _ really _ hadn’t thought that he’d have to write this letter. Ever. Now, though? This letter was like a punch to the throat. It had completely knocked the air from his lungs. 

_ Sometimes when someone you care about… _

There was snow falling out the window. Large, puffy white clumps raining down like warriors with a mission: Destroy all life forms. Lucky for Dick, he was off duty for the weekend and didn’t have to step a foot outside at all. 

_ Sometimes when someone you care about dies…  _

Dick really wondered why it had to be  _ him _ to write this letter and not Bruce. Then again, Bruce’s idea of coping after the death of a loved one was to dress up as a bat and fight crime, so maybe it  _ was _ a good idea for Damian to have talked to his older brother rather than his father. Besides, Damian was already Robin, he didn’t need to be Batman. (At least, definitely not yet.) 

_ Sometimes when someone you care about dies, you have to simply remember them in the best way possible.  _

Dick sighed, leaning his head against the back of the chair he was in. The snowflakes had, somehow, grown larger. He turned towards the space heater on the ground and turned it up an extra setting. 

_ Sometimes when someone you care about dies, you have to simply remember them in the best way possible. Of course, grief is something that everyone takes differently. Do whatever helps  _ you _. Please note that that does not include recklessly putting yourself in danger, as that is not helping yourself. If you need someone to talk to, I’m always here. If that’s not your thing, than that’s okay too. Keep doing what you love. And speaking of love, know that I’ll always love you, no matter what. I’d come and give you a hug but… I think I’m snowed in. See you at New Years, Baby Bat.  _

_ Love, _

_ Your big Brother, _

_ DICK G. _

_ :) _

Dick read the letter over a second time. He pulled out an envelope from his bookshelf. (Although at this point it held more office supplies than books.) He put two stamps on it, then added the correct addresses. He set it in his mailbox, making sure to put the flag up so the postman would take the letter, then went back to his apartment and sat on the couch. 

Dick reread Damian’s text from earlier that morning. 

_ Grayson, _

_ I regret to inform you that my pet rat, Drake, has recently passed away. Father got a new rat to keep Isaac company. I’ve named him Hamilton, although I wanted to name him Todd. (Father would not let me.) I am contacting you due to me having a very important question. How do I cope?  _

_ Get back to me as soon as you can. _

Dick shook his head, setting his phone back in his pocket. 

***BONUS***

Bruce had bought Damian another rat. Mostly because Damian had insisted that rats needed to be at least in pairs in order to be happy. 

Damian wanted to name the rat Todd. Bruce had, obviously, said no. Then Damian retaliated with “But you let me name the other one Drake!”

All this time and Bruce had thought the rat’s name was Dank. He’d heard some of his various children use the phrase dank memes. Obviously his assumption of the name had been misheard. 

That didn’t mean he was going to let Damian name his new rat Todd. 

“What do  _ you _ propose I name him, then,” Damian scowls, his arms crossed. Sometimes it’s hard for Bruce to remember that his son is fourteen when he does this. 

“Jason’s been really interested in Hamilton lately,” Bruce smiles lightly. Damian seems happy enough with that, and he carries the new rat off to his room where he keeps the cage. (If it could be called a cage. Damian had done his best to recreate rat park within the space allotted.) 


End file.
